Pakistan has launched a fresh sub-national polio vaccination campaign aimed at protecting around 24 million children in 97 high-risk districts across the country. The drive was formally launched on Friday at the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication in Islamabad, where Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal administered the first drops of the campaign.
The campaign will run from November 2 to 8, during which more than 200,000 frontline polio workers will go door to door to vaccinate children under the age of five. It is the fifth large-scale polio campaign of 2026 and the third sub-national drive of the year, reflecting the intensity of the country’s continuing eradication effort.
According to the campaign plan, Punjab will cover 13 districts with a target of 9.278 million children, while Sindh will vaccinate 6.883 million children in 20 districts. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will cover 27 districts, targeting 4.808 million children, and Balochistan will cover 31 districts with a target of 2.217 million children.
In addition, more than 447,000 children will be vaccinated in Islamabad, while the campaign will cover three districts in Gilgit-Baltistan, targeting 153,000 children, and two districts in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, targeting 183,000 children. The overall national target is around 23.9 million children.
The campaign will run simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan with cross-border coordination, an important step given the movement of people between the two countries. Health officials say repeated vaccination rounds remain essential because every missed child can keep the virus in circulation.
Addressing the launch ceremony, the health minister expressed confidence that Pakistan could become polio-free by June next year, reaffirming the government’s commitment to eradicating the disease. He urged parents to cooperate with vaccination teams and to ensure that children receive the drops during every round, even if they have been vaccinated before.
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects children under the age of five and can cause lifelong paralysis. There is no cure, but vaccination can prevent infection, which is why health authorities stress the importance of reaching every child in the targeted districts.
Pakistan has made major progress since the launch of its national eradication programme in 1994. Programme figures show that cases have fallen from an estimated 20,000 that year to 31 in 2025 and seven so far in 2026, a reduction of 99.8 per cent. Officials credit sustained vaccination rounds, improved surveillance and the work of frontline teams for the decline.
Despite the progress, health officials caution that the final stage of eradication is often the hardest. High-risk districts have been selected for this round precisely because they are the areas where the virus is most likely to persist, and where access, awareness and follow-up need the most attention.
Parents are being asked to welcome vaccination teams, to keep children available at home during the campaign days, and to report any child who may have been missed. Health authorities say the cooperation of families and communities will decide whether this round brings the country closer to its goal of a polio-free Pakistan.
